Popular Monsanto Product Linked to Major Health Problems, Study Says

Posted on Apr 26, 2013

AP/James A. Finley

Cancer, Parkinson’s and infertility—these are just some of the diseases and health problems that a new study says may be linked to the heavy use of Roundup weed killer, the world’s most popular herbicide that is sprayed on millions of acres of crops.

According to the report, residue of the chemical glyphosate, the chief ingredient in Roundup, has been discovered in our food supply. That’s problematic because, according to the report, that residue may lead to diseases and other health issues.

The study’s findings directly contradict what Monsanto, the biotech corporation that developed Roundup, has been saying for years about glyphosate.

Reuters:

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body,” the study says.

We “have hit upon something very important that needs to be taken seriously and further investigated,” Seneff said.

Environmentalists, consumer groups and plant scientists from several countries have warned that heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants, people and animals.